Youngsters take centre stage in Police Youth Conference

Criminal justice experts and crime reduction partners are set to descend upon Nottingham University to hear the results of a county-wide youth engagement project.

Members of the Nottinghamshire Youth Commission will present the findings of their Big Conversation survey which involved the participation of 1,000 young people across the county at a conference on Monday, March 21.

The event, which takes place in the University of Nottingham’s Exchange Building, will be attended by Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping, Chief Constable Chris Eyre and other senior police officers and partners.

Youth Commission members will be presenting their research in six areas; Stop and search; relationship with the police, the link between crime and poverty; education and crime prevention; drugs, alcohol and sexual harassment and re-offending and rehabilitation.

The Nottinghamshire Youth Commission has been developed by Commissioner Tipping in conjunction with social enterprise firm Leaders Unlocked to give young people a bigger voice in policing.

A total of 25 young people have been selected to sit on the Commission and the final panel includes ex-offenders, victims and witnesses of crime, university students, youth workers, journalists, cadets and aspiring police officers. The Commission also has representation from a wide geographical area.

Commenting ahead of the conference, Mr Tipping said: “I’m really looking forward to hearing the results of this major youth engagement project and finding out young people’s views on some of the biggest challenges to modern policing.

“Commission members have been working really hard to reach young people living in the county and gathering their views. The findings they present will help us to target our communication work more effectively in the future, learn from their experiences of policing – both good and bad - and understand the priorities that are most important to the younger generation.”